Geneva-Paris ST Report 2006

Report on Study Trip April 2006

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION 5 2. THE CITIES 6

2.1. Geneva 6

2.2. Paris 7

3. THE ORGANISATIONS 9

3.1. UNECE 9 3.1.1. The Organisation 10 3.1.2. The Departments of the UNECE 11 3.1.3. Summary of Briefing by Mr. Jakobowicz 15 3.1.4. Guided Tour through the UN Building 17

3.2. WTO 19 3.2.1. Devision: Trade in Services 20 3.2.2. Summary of Briefing 21

3.3. The International Committee of the Red Cross 22 3.3.1. Some key ideas 23 3.3.2. Summary on Guided Tour 24

3.4. International Labour Organisation 27 3.4.1. Structure, Activities, Roles and Problems 28 3.4.2. The Department (Communication and Public Information) 30 3.4.3. Summary of Lecture by Mr. Rohland 31

3.5. UNCTAD 33 3.5.1. Mandate 33 3.5.2. Main Activities 34 3.5.3. Organizational Structure 36 3.5.4. Future Outlook 37 3.5.5. Summary of Lecture 37

3.6. OECD 38 3.6.1. Public Affairs & Communications Directorate 39 3.6.2. Austrian Delegation 42 3.6.3. Summary of Lecture by Mr. Jochen Picht (OECD Department of Public Affairs and

Communication) 43 3.6.4. Summary of Lecture by Ms. Scheffel (Austrian delegation) 44

3.7. International Energy Agency 46 3.7.1. Department (Energy Efficiency and Environment Division 47 3.7.2. Summary of Lecture by Ms. Philipine de T’Sercalaes 48

3.8. DEXIA 49 3.8.1. Business Lines 50 3.8.2. Summary of Lecture 51


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4. DIARIES 54 4.1. Saturday & Sunday (22.04 – 23.04.2006) 54 4.2. Monday (24.04.2006) 55 4.3. Tuesday (25.04.2006) 56 4.4. Wednesday (26.04.2006) 57 4.5. Thursday (27.04.2006) 59 4.6. Friday (28.04.2006) 61 4.7. Saturday & Sunday (29.04 – 30.04) 62

5. CONCLUSION 64 6. COMMENTS 65 7. SOURCES 68


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1. Introduction

In their 5th semester the students of the Export Management degree program at the IMC

Krems got the chance to attend the course on international law chaired by Mr. Dr. Anis

Bajrektarevic. In the wake of these lectures topics such as International Organisations,

supranational governmental and non-governmental bodies and agencies were analyzed,

discussed and scrutinized.

In the process of talking about all of these important organisations that influence so many

aspects in our life left most of us with a weird sense of detachment; sitting in the auditorium

in Krems and imagining the importance of so distant places in which history was and

continues to be made. At that very moment the idea was born, and notion which subsequently

lead to this remarkable study-visit to Geneva and Paris.

Mr. Anis Bajrektarevic mentioned his excellent contacts to influential individuals in the high-

ranks of organisations such as the UN, WTO, OECD, IEA, etc. and expressed the possibility

of actually going to visit them at their offices and headquarters. From that point on an

incredible amount of coordination and determination was necessary to asses the feasibility of

the trip for over 60 students originating from different semesters. The subsequent workload

was immense, all the officials in the organisations needed to be contacted and dates agreed

upon. Administrational topics such as hotel bookings, the organisation of the transport by bus,

the attempts for attracting sponsoring and the collection of the individual contributions by the

students demanded nerves of steal, patience, and incalculable amounts of time by the students

involved in this process. Nevertheless the objective was clear; an overwhelming majority of

the students was supportive to the idea of this study trip within the 6th semester and finally, on

Saturday the 22nd of April, 2006, a double-decker bus with over 60 Export students left Krems

going west, heading direction Geneva….


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2. The Cities

2.1. Geneva

The city of Geneva is a piece of enclosed land encircled by France. It is located between the

Alps and the Jura mountains, at the very south-west of Switzerland and at the Lake Geneva.

The Rhône and the Arve are the main rivers crossing Geneva. The elevation of the City is 373

meters. The city claims around 185,000 residents. One of Geneva’s most famous sights is the

Jet d’eau (Water Fountain). The fountain pumps half a cubic meter of water per second with a

speed of 200 km/h up to 140 meters high in the air. The city’s ancient Old Town offers a

living glimpse of the past while Geneva’s more than thirty museums and art galleries capture

the rich and vibrant history of the city including the International Red Cross and Red Crescent

Museum. But Geneva is not only interesting for tourists and organisations. Geneva is a major

business centre in Europe, home to hundreds of international and multi-national companies

from around the world.

In Switzerland, Geneva comes first

with the number of foreign people

regarding its population: around 45%

represent nearly 180 nations. This

internationality is mainly due to the

many international organisations on

its soil. Geneva plays host to some

200 international organizations - the

UN European headquarters, the UN

Conference for Trade and

Development (UNCTAD), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the World Health

Organization (WHO), and the High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) as well as Non-

governmental organizations (NGO’s) such as the Red Cross.

The city of Geneva


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But why is Geneva so interesting for the establishment of the seats for all international

organizations? Among the many reasons why this city is so attractive are firstly Geneva is

located around the Lake Geneva and this makes it a very beautiful place to live in, secondly

Geneva can look back on a very long tradition as an international centre, for instance the

WTO (former GATT) decided to establish the seat in Geneva already 50 years ago but more

importantly the League of Nations were also located in this city. Furthermore the United

Nations have their main activities located in Geneva, namely the offices for Human Rights,

Disarmaments and Trade (as well as Health under the WHO).

Another reason can be found in the fact that Switzerland is situated in the centre of Europe

and that it represents a neutral territory regarding for example the European Union. Already in

former times the Swiss neutrality was as a very important issue, like for example Switzerland

was for a long time neutral of any system like the UN or NATO.

Another very important reason is that after World War 2 the Bretton Woods Institutions

(World Bank and IMF) were built up in the United States and so the GATT decided to situate

itself in Geneva in order to balance the power and to coordinate more efficiently the way of

reconstruction and development in Europe. Additionally this destination was chosen to

enhance international trade. After the establishment of GATT in Geneva in 1955, all the other

international organizations followed as well.

2.2. Paris

The capital of France is located in north central France on the Île-de-France (Paris and

suburbs) at the bank of the river Seine. More importantly Paris is the most visited city of the

world with approximately 30 million visitors a year. Like some other cities Paris has also a

nickname, which is the City of Light (la Ville Lumière) and an air of romance is always

attached to its name. Probably among the most recognisable sights of Paris are the 324 metre

Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Sacre Coer and Notre Dame. The city of Paris in 2004 had a

population of 2,144,700 but the urban area of Paris has a population of 9.9 million according

to an INSEE report. Paris is a municipality consisting of 20 municipal arrondissements, which

are numbered clockwise spiral outward from the premier arrondissement. Each of these has a


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directly elected council, which then is responsible for electing the arrondissement mayor.

Representatives of each of these councils form then in turn the Council of Paris, which in turn

elects the mayor of Paris.

According to an INSEE report Paris and the Île-de-France account for almost a quarter of the

French GDP of €450 billion. More importantly due to the massive business district of La

Défense Paris is home to almost half of the headquarters of all French companies. Paris is also

the headquarters of the French bank Dexia, which where one of the numerous visits during

this study trip and will be mentioned later in this paper. Of central importance are also the

many offices of international organisations such as UNESCO and OECD to name just a few.

Paris has been the scene of much diplomatic

activity and was already in the 18th century

boasting the largest foreign affairs department in

Europe. The main reason for this might be that

the country was and still remains an intensely

elitist society whereas the peak of the elite will

be found in the government. The French civil

servants and diplomats are of the first order, well

educated and sophisticated, with a great sense of

the state - a loyalty to the community that one

represents. Nevertheless, the French are known

to be very difficult, however very effective

people in conflict. This refers specially to the

“French pride” being justifiably proud of their

nation's culture and notably confident of their intellectual superiority. In the after war periods

the French played a more independent role as far as the European partners were concerned,

going their own way not tending to side with anybody. Moreover the French have always

insisted that official business be conducted exclusively in their language which is maybe the

main reason why French is the diplomatic language within the official languages in

international organisations.

The Eiffel Tower in Paris


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3. The Organisations

3.1. UNECE

On July 1946 the “Temporary Sub Commission on the Economic Reconstruction of

Devastated Areas“ recommended the foundation of the Economic Commission for Europe in

London". In 1947, ECE was given the mandate to rebuild post-war Europe, develop economic

activity and strengthen economic relations between European countries and between them and

the other countries of the world.

During its first four years after its establishment the Commission functioned only on a

provisional basis. Then it was up to the provisional institution to prove whether a permanent

establishment of the Economic Commission on Europe would be effective. The reviewing

report revealed that the Commission’s objectives are to “initiate and participate in measures

for facilitating concerted action for the economic reconstruction of Europe, for raising the

level of European economic activity, and for maintaining and strengthening the economic

relations of the European countries, both among themselves and with other countries of the

world"

Its major aim consists of making sponsoring, investigations, and studies of economic and

technological problems, developments as well as the collection, evaluation and dissemination

of economic, technological and statistical information. In addition to that, the General

Assembly and the Council were concerned with the reparation of war damages and in the

light of the winding up of the United Nation Relief and Rehabilitation Agency (UNRRA) in

1947, the ECE received the order to "give prior consideration, during its initial stages, to

measures facilitating the economic reconstruction of devastated countries of Europe which are

members of the United Nations.

Basically the Commission is empowered to issue recommendations on any matter within its

competence directly to the participating governments. Those recommendations are subject to

two different qualifications: Firstly to the activity of the Commission, which functions within


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the framework of the policies of the United Nations and under the general supervision of the

Council, is subject to the provision that the Commission "takes no action in respect to any

country without the agreement of the government of that country" (article 1); and secondly the

Commission is required to "submit for the Council's prior consideration any of its proposals

for activities that would have important effects on the economy of the world as a whole"

(article 4).

In June 1951 the Commission unanimously adopted resolution 1 (VI) on its future, in which it

considered that constructive economic co-operation was essential to the maintenance of

peace, reaffirmed its faith in the possibility of such co-operation within the framework of the

Commission, and recommended that it should continue its work in this direction.

Finally as a result of that Committee's recommendations the Council, in its resolution 414 C

(XIII), expressed unanimous appreciation of the work of the regional commissions and

decided to continue them indefinitely. By virtue of this decision the ECE became a permanent

body of the United Nations.

3.1.1. The Organisation

In principal the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe is one of five regional

institutions of the United Nations. Concerning the representation and the credentials, each and

every member shall be represented by an accredited representative, who also can be

accompanied by advisors and deputies, who are empowered to temporarily replace the

representative if he should be absent.

Basically each and every member is in charge of one vote. Furthermore it is required that a

majority of all members needs to be present and has to participate in the voting. Concerning

actions to be taken, the UNECE is not empowered to take actions without prior consultation

of the country constraint.

In principal all the terms and obligations can be amended and suspended by the Commission,

apart from aiming at setting the terms of references aside provided for by the UNECE.


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The UNECE functions as the regional arm of the United Nations in order to guarantee that all

the different problems are covered at the United Nations world conference. The underlying

reason is that the Commission should facilitate follow up at a regional level. The terms of

reference had been defined by ECOSOC.

In addition to this UNECE provides a forum for the 55 countries in order to foster the

economic cooperation between the countries of North America, Western, Central and Eastern

Europe as well as Central Asia.

Furthermore there are 70 international professional organisations, accredited with a

consultative status with the Economic and Social Council.

The Commission mainly pursues its goals through policy analysis, the development of

conventions, regulations and standards, and the provision of technical assistance.

Until now, UNECE has drawn up more than 30 conventions and protocols, and over 250

regulations and standards. These instruments eliminate obstacles and simplify procedures for

trade throughout the region and with the rest of the world. A number of them also aim at

improving the environment. Furthermore it also strengthens the integration of member States

at the regional and international level.

3.1.2. The Departments of the UNECE

The cooperation amongst UNECE member states concerns a wide variety of areas which are

consolidated into following divisions:

Economic Cooperation and Integration

On demand of UNECE member states this new subprogram on economic cooperation and

integration was established in order to implement the reforms which were adopted in

December 2005. The first session of the Committee is scheduled for autumn 2006. Several

countries including Austria already submitted proposals regarding the work of the Committee.

The objective is the promotion of a better policy, financial and regulatory environment for

economic growth, an innovative development and higher competitiveness of enterprises and


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economic activities in the UNECE region. The focus will be on countries with economies in

transition. It will deliver policy advice, improve policy dialogue and give the possibility to

exchange experiences between countries. The work will be demand driven and focused on

special topics.

Proposals and options for policy will be provided by the Secretariat, other organisations and

institutions and external experts. This output will be delivered to the Committee of economic

cooperation and integration and subsequently discussed by member states. The results serve

finally as basis for the operational work such as policy advisory services and capacity-

building workshops.

Environment

The aim is to safeguard the environment and human health and the promotion of sustainable

development in member states in line with Agenda 21 by reducing pollution. Industrial

pollution like air pollution is transboundary and makes cooperation among member states the

basis for improving the situation.

Through the Committee on Environmental Policy member states formulate environmental

policy. It supports also the implementation of the very policies.

Regional and cross-sectoral processes (for example “Environment for Europe” Ministerial

process, “Environment, transport and health” tripartite cooperation) serve the same aim.

Environmental performance reviews, assesses and measures the member countries efforts and

results and makes recommendations for improvement.

So far five environmental treaties (for example Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air

Pollution) have been negotiated. The respective governing bodies are serviced by the UNECE

secretariat.

Housing and Land management

Established in 1947, when infrastructure and housing were still devastated from World War 2,

the Committee today provides a forum for the compilation, dissemination and exchange of

information and experience on housing, urban development and land administration. The

Committee advises member countries on human settlement policies and strategies and


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encourages their implementation. Today help is, for example, given to Bosnia in order to set

up a functioning land register. The Committee works closely with the European Union,

OECD and other UN commissions and agencies.

Statistics

Any sound strategy and policy developed by politicians or managers must be based on up-to-

date, accurate and comparable data and statistics. The UNECE statistical database provides

statistics on all member countries and covers macroeconomic, gender and social studies. The

UNECE statistical work is steered by the Conference of European Statisticians. Their aim is

to improve national statistics and their still lacking international comparability, to promote the

coordination of statistical activities and to respond to any cooperation need both within the

ECE region and other regions. The database can be used free of charge.

Sustainable Energy

Given the fast growing energy consumption in countries like PR China and India and the

related pollution of environment through energy production, the promotion of sustainable

energy production becomes extremely important for UNECE members. The Committee on

Sustainable Energy is responsible for promoting international cooperation in the field of

energy. It is a forum for issues like industry restructuring, energy efficiency, market

liberalisation, energy pricing and energy security. It encourages the use of natural gas, to

bridge the gap until new environmentally friendly energy sources are commercialised, and

improves the environmental friendly production of energy out of coal.

Technical Cooperation

A support unit of the UNECE is the Technical Cooperation Unit. It supports and also

coordinates all operational activities undertaken by UNECE divisions. Most of the activities

dial with the implementation of specific projects in member countries.


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Timber

The UNECE Timber Committee and the FAO European Forestry Commission cooperate in

order to promote a sustainable forest management in the UNECE region. Forests act as “green

lungs” all over the world and are an important factor in regulating the world climate. But

timber is used by humans all over the world for heating and construction.

The Committee works on principles like partnerships, consensus and a balance between

ecological, economic and social dimensions of sustainability. The Committee is active in

analysing and monitoring policy and developments, collecting and disseminating information

and stimulating the exchange of experience and cooperation.

Trade

Although world trade is increasing nowadays it has not reached again the peak it had in the

19th century and the time until World War 1. The aims of the UNECE’s trade development

programme are the development and maintenance of effective international norms and

standards, the reduction of barriers to trade in goods and services especially in UNECE

member countries and the policy development by offering a platform for the exchange of

views.

Several working groups deal with issues like trade facilitation and electronic business (UN

EDIFACT), agricultural quality standards, and regulatory cooperation and standardization

policies (ISO).

Transport

Along with the increase in international trade goes an increase in international transport and

traffic. Transport is therefore an important concern for all UNECE members.

Intergovernmental cooperation is necessary to reduce delivery times and costs and to connect

remote areas to international transport routes. As important is the improvement of security

and environmental-friendliness of modes of transport.


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Guided by the Inland Transport Committee, following working parties deal with a great

variety of issues regarding to transport (examples):

Working Party on Road Transport; on Road Traffic Safety; on Vehicle regulations; Rail

Transport; Transport of Dangerous Goods.

Many UNECE legal instruments and regulations are used as the basis for EC/EU directives,

and vice versa.

3.1.3. Summary of Briefing by Mr. Jakobowicz

After a warm welcome to Geneva and the UN Economic Commission for Europe Mr.

Jakobowicz first gave us a short overview of the UNECE: It is rather small department within

the UN consisting of approximately 200 persons at the moment, with a budget of 27 mil US $

every two years. It was created in 1947 and at this time it was the only place where

communist and capitalist countries came together. By now 55 countries are members to the

UNECE and it consists of 5 regional commissions.

According to Mr. Jakobowicz, the

main task of the UNECE in Geneva

is to set international standards; this

includes the standardisation of fruits,

vegetables, cars, roads and much

more. The main reason for this is to

define how things should look like in

international trade. As an example

Mr. Jakobowicz mentioned the “War

of Nuts” between France (Grenoble)

and the US (California), thus showing that standardisation is important because huge amounts

of money are involved in international trade. Not only many countries worldwide but also the

EU relies on UN standards and does not set their own standards.

Standardisation is an important tool for trade facilitation as e.g. the TIR standard in

international road transport. Mr. Jakobowicz explained us that TIR is an official seal on trucks

Briefing in the UN Building in Geneva


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which allows the driver of the truck to transport the cargo to the final destination, within all

European countries, without having to open it in-between.

Due to dying lakes in Scandinavia as a result of acid rain the UNECE started its environment

program, with the convention on protection of air pollution TDT, in the 1970`s. At this time

the Scandinavian countries started to invest abroad in order to safe the environment as they

itself don’t produce a lot of pollution as they mainly rely on hydropower. Other protocols

regarding the environment are dealing with persistent organic pollution (POPs) and water

problems. The ARIS convention on communication obliges countries to disclose everything

to the public which could harm them in case of environmental accidents. The latest two

protocols in this category, Mr. Jakobowicz, explained are the PRTC, which obliges countries

to declare dangerous products and have list where they are located, and the protocol on

GMO’s, which has the aim that all GMO’s should be identified.

Regarding energy the UNECE has an energy security forum which meets once a year and

discusses issues such as the long term supply of energy or fight against terrorism. The speech

was continued with the topic of statistics, which, in regard to standardisation, is discussed

together with other organisations like e.g. Eurostat.

The UNECE has its own division dealing with trade, which has come up with the UN

EDIFAC.

This is a system of codes used by 300,000 companies worldwide and helps to ease

international trade. Everything what used to be transmitted by fax is now transmitted by

codes. The only drawback of this system is that it is free and thus big companies are not all in

favour of it.

The very interesting and humorous lecture by Mr. Jakobowicz was followed by an open floor

discussion, where the plenum took the unique opportunity to get a deeper understanding of

the department and its work. Please find the respective questions and answers following to

this paragraph:


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• In which way does the Geneva office cooperate with other regional offices in regards

to standardisation?

Depending on which countries/parties are affected by certain standardisations/changes in

standardisations, cooperation among countries and/or regional offices is varying greatly.

(e.g.: Standardisations in the field of flowers would trigger cooperation between major

flower producing nations such as Northern Africa, Holland etc. and the office in Geneva.)

In general one can state, that there is no or not much cooperation between the regional

offices with the exception of Geneva and Bangkok (Asia-Pacific) where this can

sometimes be necessary, as there is no need for closer collaboration.

• In which way are standards monitored and enforced?

As soon as states are accepting standards set by the UNECE, they integrate those into

their own regulatory systems for monitoring and enforcement. Therefore the UN

Economic Commission for Europe is not responsible for those, as it is not involved in

national politics.

• In which way is standardisation influencing diversification?

The UNECE is confronted with the question, if succeeding standardisation is suppressing

diversification – this has already been discussed internally. On the one hand this

suppression seems very obvious – on the other hand “You know what you get!” This

problem setting is especially worsening with the emergence with the “BIO” labels

nowadays, as it is quite difficult to include those into currently existing standards.

In order to get more detailed information on the workings of the department please consult its

homepage on www.unbc.org.

3.1.4. Guided Tour through the UN Building

On Monday the 24th of April at 11:45 the delegation participants from the IMC-Krems had the

pleasure to participate in a guided tour through the United Nations Building in Geneva.

At the beginning the tour guide introduced herself, Constanze Barmoo, and welcomed all

students. The tour began with a deep explanation of the United Nations structure and the brief


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history overview. The beginning of the United Nations started with the foundation of the

League of Nation after World War II. There was a need for an organisational body which

promotes and encourages a peaceful living and harmless dispute settlement but also advises

countries on certain issues such as importance of Human Rights.

The United Nations is an international organization that describes itself as a “global

association of governments facilitating cooperation in international law, international security,

economic development and social equity”. It was founded on 24th of October in 1945 by 51

states signing the Charta of the United Nations. The precursor of the United Nations was the

development of the League of Nations. Today the United Nations is composed of 191

member states, including virtually all international recognised independent nations, except the

Vatican City (Holly See), which has declined membership but is an observer state.

From its headquarters in New York

City, the UN's member countries and

specialized agencies give guidance

and decide on substantive and

administrative issues in regular

meetings held throughout each year.

The organization is divided into

administrative bodies, including the

UN General Assembly, UN Security

Council, UN Economic and Social

Council, UN Trusteeship Council, UN Secretariat, and the International Court of Justice, as

well as counterpart bodies dealing with the governance of all other UN system agencies, such

as the WHO and UNICEF. The UN's most visible public figure is the Secretary-General.

Considering the organisational structure of the United Nations it is important to mention that

there are currently four office locations available; Paris, Vienna, Geneva and New York.

The biggest office in terms of conference held per year is New York followed by Geneva

which hosts 8.000 – 9.000 meetings per year.

After this special insight into the organisational structure the tour continued and the

delegation from the IMC-Krems had the chance to see different conference rooms. The first

room had the capacity to host around 900 persons which can be either delegates from nations

Meeting hall of the UN in Geneva


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or members of NGO’s (Non Governmental Organisations), which act as a advisory body to

the United Nations but also civilians may have the chance to listen to meetings in Geneva.

The tour through the United Nations Building in Geneva also gave the students from Krems

the opportunity to see different gifts from the member nations of the United Nations. For

example the silk carpet from Beijing/China which is one of the most well known gifts from a

member country.

The symbol of the United Nations is the globe made out of iron in the garden of the United

Nation which emblematizes the collective thought of the UN.

Considering the building in Geneva is it important to mention that every member country

provide different raw materials during the construction for example the marble for the

building came from Sweden and Spain.

3.2. WTO

The World Trade Organization was founded in

1995 (in the Uruguay Round) as the successor of

the GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and

Trade) which remained the WTO’s principle rules

for trade in goods.

Today the WTO has nearly 150 members who

account for over 97% of the world trade.

It is the only international organization dealing with

global rules of trade between nations. Its main

purpose is to ensure that trade flows as smoothly,

predictably and freely as possible by lowering trade

barriers among member countries.

The main functions of the WTO are to administer

WTO trade agreements, to act as a forum for trade negotiations, to handle trade disputes, to

Export 2003 students posing in front of the entrance of the WTO


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monitor national trade policies, to provide technical assistance and training to developing

countries and to cooperate with other international organisations.

The agreements reached are the legal rules for international commerce and binding for all

member countries. Negotiations take place only between governments, but finally exporters

and importers and therefore the peoples of the member countries are the ones benefiting. The

decisions are usually taken by consensus among all members.

The highest decision making body within the structure of the WTO is the Ministerial

Conference which has to meet at least every two years. The second important body is the

General Council which shares its work with the Dispute Settlement Body and the Trade

Policy Review Body.

3.2.1. Division: Trade in Services

The WTO Secretariat is organized into divisions with functional, information/ liaison and

support roles, which are normally headed by a Director who reports to a Deputy-Director

General or directly to the Director General.

The Trade in Services Division can be found under the functional support role; it provides

support for the new round of services negotiations since the year 2000. It also continues to

provide support for the Council for Trade in Services and other bodies established under the

GATS including the

• Committee on Financial Services

• The Working Party on Domestic Regulation

• Disciplines under Article VI:4 of the GATS

• The Working Party on GATS Rules

• Disciplines relating to safeguards, subsidies, government procurement

• The Committee on Specific Commitments

and any additional bodies set up under the Council as well as any dispute settlement panels

involving services.

Other work includes providing support for the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements in

its work relating to Article V of the GATS, and for working parties on accession of new

Members in relation to services; facilitating the implementation of the results of negotiations

on basic telecommunications, financial services and professional services; participating

actively in technical cooperation and other forms of public explanation of the GATS, and

providing a continuing service of advice and assistance to Geneva delegations; monitoring


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implementation of the GATS in terms of notifications and implementation of existing and

new commitments.

Within the Trade in Services Division there are in total 16 people employed, 15 of them are

considered as regular staff and they report to one director.

Deputy Director- General of the Trade in Services Division is Harsha Vardhana Singh, who

simultaneously serves as the Deputy Director- General for the Agriculture and Commodities

Division and as well for the Trade and Environment Division.

3.2.2. Summary of Briefing

On the 24th of April 2006 a meeting with a delegate employee of the WTO was scheduled on

the timeline of our Study Trip. The US citizen Dale Hutchens who works for the “Trade and

Service Division” of the WTO gave us a general overview of the activities of the

organization.

The WTO replaced its three predecessors and has in contrast to its antecessor an institutional

character. The headquarter was agreed to be placed in Geneva / Switzerland.

The WTO has six main tasks, namely:

• Administering WTO trade agreements

• Forum of trade negotiations

• Handling trade disputes

• Monitoring national trade policies

• Technical assistance and training for developing countries

• Cooperation with other international organizations

Currently the WTO has 150 members worldwide. The map below shows the members in

particular. Green indicates members, yellow observers and grey neither of both.


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Furthermore Mr. Hutchens was so kind to give us information about the possibilities to work

for the WTO after graduation or to do an internship at the organization. Not astonishing Mr.

Hutchens explained us that the demand for internships is tremendously high and that it is

consequently difficult to get the possibility to realize an internship in Geneva at the WTO.

About the opportunity of facing a career at the WTO after graduation, Mr. Hutchens

explained us the procedure of applying for a working possibility at the WTO.

Generally spoken, the briefing was highly interesting, as we could gain insight into the WTO

from a specialist’s point of view in contrast to the more general view, that we got

communicated during our education at IMC.

3.3. The International Committee of the Red Cross

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is

one of the most important worldwide organizations. The

ICRC was established in 1864 in Geneva, after the idea of

Henry Dunant to set up a permanent organisation to help

the wounded.


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Additionally to the creation of the International Committee of the Red Cross, modern

humanitarian law came into existence. Those are internationally-agreed rules, applicable to all

conflicts to assure assistance for the wounded and sick – and later, to apply to prisoners and

civilians affected by conflicts (revision and expansion of the Geneva Conventions, in 1949; in

1977 and two Additional Protocols). The Geneva Conventions are binding instruments of

international law, applicable worldwide. The ICRC has a permanent mandate under

international law to take impartial action. The ICRC is at the origin of both the International

Red Cross / Red Crescent Movement and of international humanitarian law, notably the

Geneva Conventions.

The ICRC can be seen as an independent, neutral organization ensuring humanitarian

protection and assistance for victims of war and armed violence. The ICRC is headquartered

in Geneva, Switzerland and based in around 80 countries with about more than 12,000

employees. In case of conflicts the ICRC is organising actions of the national Red Cross / Red

Crescent societies and their International Federation.

The ICRC is governed by an Assembly which is the supreme governing body, an Assembly

Council (a subsidiary body of the Assembly) and a Directorate. The Assembly delegates

certain powers to the Assembly Council. The Directorate is responsible for the execution. The

Assembly and the Assembly Council are both chaired by ICRC President Jakob Kellenberger,

PhD.

3.3.1. Some key ideas

In 2004:

• ICRC delegates visited more than 570,000 people deprived of their freedom.

• The ICRC set up water, sanitation and construction projects for around 20 million

people.

• The ICRC supported hospitals and health-care facilities for about 2.8 million people.

• Essential household goods were provided to more than 2.2 million people.

• Food aid was given to 1.3 million people.

• The ICRC established sustainable food-production and micro-economic initiatives for

1.1 million people.


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The ICRC is voluntarily funded by contributions from governments, party to the Geneva

Conventions, the national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies, supranational organizations

(such as the European Commission) and public and private sources.

3.3.2. Summary on Guided Tour

The guided tour through the Red Cross Museum started with a general explanation of the

history of the world largest humanitarian organization. We found ourselves in a symbolic

building where we could see sculptures in representation of the violation of the Human

Rights. Moreover the unfinished ceiling of the building symbolised the ongoing work of the

Red Cross Organization.

The museum very much communicates the idea of

self reflection, which is visualised in a saying on

the wall in the entrance area: “Chacun est

responsible de tout devant tous” – “Each one is

responsible for everything before us all”.

The first impressions we got were that the Red

Cross and Red Halfmoon is an Organisation for

the whole of Earth’s society, irrespective of race or heritage. This is something Henry Dunant,

the founder of the organisation had emphasised from the very beginning.

The guided tour comprised the five major aspects of national society, which were explained to

us in detail during our guided tour. Several rooms in the museum provided us with an insight

into the different areas of responsibility covered by the Int. Red Cross Committee:

1. The first room dealt with national society. This project was sponsored by the national

society of Denmark and it provided help in the form of hygiene and the empowerment

of the victim. We were told that children in the Philippines could benefit from this

project as they could exchange waste products for medicine.

2. In the following room, we were confronted with the ground symbolism of the

Federation of the Red Cross: shelter, water, personal hygiene, pots & pans, food.

These items are offered by the Red Cross in order to empower those in need for help.

Moreover we could listen to a message of a traumatized person in this room.

Museum of the ICRC


- 25 -

3. “Get families together” was the message of the next room we entered. Hundreds of

photos of young African children were

stacked on the wall in representation of the

work of the Red Cross after the Genocide in

Ruanda in 1994. Many children affected

were simply too young and traumatized in

order to be identified, so the Red Cross took

pictures of them with numbers in order to

find the way back to their families. The first

3 letters indicate the area in which they were found followed by the number assigned

to the child.

4. The International Committee of the Red Cross visits prisoners of war and issues

reports on these visits to inform about the living conditions in these prisons. The next

room we entered was a rebuilt prison in real size of a prison in Latin America, where

actually 17 people were forced to live on an area of about 4x3x2 metres. Water could

be accessed in the corners. After the issuing of the report it took another five years to

close down this prison. Moreover we could see gifts which were given to the delegates

who visited the prisoners.

5. The fifth room dealt with landmines. When

entering we stepped on round trunks and

saw several landmines as well as prostheses.

Enforcement of the population training in

how to avoid landmine fields is of utmost

importance in countries as e.g. Angola,

Afghanistan, Vietnam, etc. Affected persons

receive prostheses and children require a new one every three to five years. Children

are highly affected by landmines as they mix up one form of landmines called

“butterflies” with some sort of broken material they play with, which, as we know, has

fatal consequences.

When walking from one room to another one could see transparent veils hanging from the

ceiling, representing the concern for human life. Moreover there were boards dedicated to

famous personalities, such as Florence Nightingale, who reduced the mortality rate of the

Museum of the ICRC

Artificial legs in the museum of the ICRC


- 26 -

wounded in the battle fields or Charly Barton, who motivated people during Civil Wars and

pushed the U.S. to sign the convention.

A definitely very inspiring and emotional part of the guided tour

was the film/dia-show about the battle of Solferino. The dia-

show ended with a slide showing Mr. George Seagal in a

naturally lighted room appearing all in white. Suddenly the

projection wall opened and we saw a white room with the

sculpture of Mr. George Seagal. The next room was full of

boxes with a collection of around 700 cards describing the faith

of prisoners.

In the following area, a sculpture, the “Humanitarian Gesture”, represented the humanitarian

spirit, often crushed but always renewed by Alexander Meylan and Laura Pisnor. It was at

this point, our guide reminded us that it lies in the responsibility of every one of us to make

the world a peaceful place.

Next we watched film about the impact of World War II, when the Central Prisoners War

Agency sent out around 200 000 messages a day. Packages of food were sent to overcome

scarcity and even intellectual aid was given by this postal service where some prisoners could

acquire a 2nd university education. Moreover, a wall we passed displayed a poster campaign

of the Red Cross in the Communist time.

Several items were exhibited which we were

recommended to look at in detail. One was

particularly interesting: a bird carved out of

wood handmade, with simplest means by a

prisoner which was given to a guard in

exchange for bread.

Sculpture of Mr. George Seagal, Museum of the ICRC

Bird carved out of wood, Museum of the ICRC


- 27 -

Definitely this guided tour through the Red Cross Museum contributed incredibly to our

understanding of the scope of work of the Red Cross. It inspired us by the various

representations and primary artefacts from the organisation’s various areas of responsibility. It

is hard to say which part of the museum or which one of the small rooms we visited was the

most fascinating. However one can say for sure that the impressions will have a lasting effect

on all of us!

3.4. International Labour Organisation

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) is (beside the UNESCO, UNHCR, FAD ...) a

UN specialised agency. One of the functions the ILO has performed has been the

establishment of international standards for workers' conditions, which have then become the

basis for trade unions and other activism in individual countries. It is a relatively low-profile

UN agency compared to some of those more active in crises, such as the World Health

Organization.

The ILO is acting on behalf of a better living world population. The ILO is one of the oldest

Organisations in Geneva. Due to this fact they had to face many changes. It was founded in

1919 and is the only surviving major creation of the Treaty of Versailles which brought the

League of Nations into being and it became the first specialised agency of the UN in 1946.

After the First World War the ILO strived for more social justice and internationally

recognized human (such as elimination of child labour) and labour rights (such as dumping or

discrimination). Their main goal is to harmonise national labour legislations via the

International Labour Court.

The three main motivations of the ILO were: political-, social- and economic motivations.

Another reason for the creation of the International Labour Organisation was added by the

participants of the Peace Conference, linked to the end of the war to which workers had

contributed on the battlefield and in industry.


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3.4.1. Structure, Activities, Roles and Problems

Structure

The ILO accomplishes its work through three main bodies, all of which encompass the unique

feature of the Organisation: government, employers, and workers.

• International Labour Conference: The member States of the ILO meet at the

International Labour Conference in June of each year, in Geneva. Each Member State is

represented by two government delegates, an employer delegate and a worker delegate. They

are accompanied by technical advisors. It is generally the Cabinet Ministers responsible for

labour affairs in their own countries who heads the delegations, takes the floor and presents

their governments' points of view.

• The Governing Body is the executive council of the ILO and meets three times a year

in Geneva. It takes decisions on ILO's policy. It establishes the programme and the budget

which it then submits to the Conference for adoption. It also elects the Director-General.

• The International Labour Office is the permanent secretariat of the International

Labour Organization and focal point for the overall activities that it prepares under the

scrutiny of the Governing Body and under the leadership of a Director-General, who is

elected for a five-year renewable term. The Office employs some 1,900 officials of over 110

nationalities at the Geneva headquarters and in 40 field offices around the world. In addition,

some 600 experts undertake missions in all regions of the world under the programme of

technical cooperation. The Office also constitutes a research and documentation centre and a

printing house issuing a broad range of specialised studies, reports and periodicals.

Activities: 4 Pillars of the ILO exist

1. Employment Promotion

2. Social Promotion (two social security system components

3. Social Dialogue (consensus between workers and employers)

4. Social Labour (standard setting activities)


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Roles

The ILO formulates international labour standards in the form of Conventions and

Recommendations, setting minimum standards of basic labour rights.

It also provides technical assistance primarily in the fields of:

• vocational training and vocational rehabilitation;

• employment policy;

• labour administration;

• labour law and industrial relations;

• working conditions;

• management development;

• cooperatives;

• social security;

• labour statistics and occupational safety and health.


- 30 -

Problems the ILO has to face

Due to too many members (178 member countries) it is sometimes difficult to agree on

decisions in the World Parliament of Labour. In the World Parliament of Labour usually the

proposals have to come from the worker representatives and not from the Government

benches. The initiative has to come from the society and not from the Government. The

Government benches change every four years, which leads to the loss of qualified people and

knowledge.

It is not always easy for the Organisation to put links between the different offices.

It is also hard to have a convention on standard working hours in different countries (e.g.: In

France 35 hours or in Germany 40 hours. Another example is the maternity leave.

3.4.2. The Department (Communication and Public Information)

This department is dedicated to the main task of spreading knowledge and information on the

work the ILO is doing and justification for launching ILO programmes. It represents the

responsible part of the ILO to answer to external world and to illustrate its work.

This is frequently done and updated by

editing a “world of work-magazine” to the public (storing articles online,

providing for an article data base sorted by region and year back to 1996)

providing for a press room (focuses releases on international ILO meetings,

storage of past releases back to 1995, presenting i-news consisting of the latest

news, and a current general director’s statement)

publishing fact sheets (on poverty, agriculture, social security, child labour,

HIV/aids, hotel/catering/tourism, microfinance and decent work, migrant

labour, safety and health at work, small-scale mining, women at work, youth

employment)

presenting events and campaigns (announcing current and forthcoming events,

storage of past meetings’ information)

presenting ILO on air (video clips on public discussions and meetings, presents

TV and radio channel news internationally on labour-related information)

establishing a photo gallery (to use and search for pictures directly)


- 31 -

3.4.3. Summary of Lecture by Mr. Rohland

On the forth day of our study trip we had the pleasure to be a guest at the International Labour

Organisation in Geneva. We were heartily welcomed by Mr. Rohland, who has been working

for the ILO for 15 years and acts as a press officer in the Department of Communication and

Public Information.

The content of the lecture by Mr. Rohland was focused on comprehensible information about

the history, structure and activities of the organisation. As these points were already discussed

in detail in the report about the background information, I will not concentrate in this report

on reproducing the whole content, but moreover I will give you additional information on

some aspects.

The creation of the ILO had political, social and economic reasons, which are closely related

to each other. After the Russian Revolution in 1917, there was the fear that such events might

happen again. In order to avoid that, more social justice through an organisation was sought.

With its help, consensus between employers and employees could be enhanced.

So, the ILO actually emerged

from the growing labour unions.

The trade union leaders can be

seen as the “Godfathers” of the

ILO, who were mainly

following the rules of

masterminds, like Friedrich

Engels. Another social part of

the evolvement of the ILO

might be the idea of

compensation for people’s death

in the First World War. Thus, trade unions were formed in order to defend people’s working

right.

Lecture with Mr. Von Rohland, International Labour Organisation, Geneva


- 32 -

The phenomenon of today’s social dumping can be connected to economic motivations. In

order to fight against such phenomenon the ILO creates international standards to harmonize

national labour legislation, which is done with the help of the international labour court.

At the end of the lecture, Mr. Rohland gave us the opportunity to ask questions about the

organisation. Mainly, the questions were about how to work for and how to enter the

organisation.

The ILO offers the possibility for an internship. In past this internship was not paid, but now

there is payment, but only a little. So you should make sure that you have enough budget at

your disposal, when you are planning to do a practical training at the ILO. Concerning the

application it is very important to contact directly the head of the department you are

interested in. It is not advisable to contact only the Human Resource Department. The ILO

offers also a social experts program after your graduation. This is a good way to enter the

organisation and it lasts for over 2 years. In general, the government of your home country

will finance this program for the first 2 or 3 years. In order to apply please contact the Foreign

Ministry of your home country, but please be aware of the fact, that the application process is

extremely competitive.

Another way of entering the organisation is to start a career in your home country, for

example in a worker’s organisation and then switch to the ILO.

However, be aware of the fact that you earn approximately 30 – 40 % less than in other

organisations, and the ILO does not offer unemployment insurance. The wages abroad,

meaning not in Geneva, are usually higher.

All in all, the lecture at the ILO in Geneva was a valuable experience. The lecture took place

in a venerable conference room. In that way it was very easy to come into contact with the

idea and spirit of the organisation.


- 33 -

3.5. UNCTAD

The first United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) was held in

Geneva in 1964. The reason for establishing this organisation was the growing concern of

developing countries in the area of international trade.

Currently 192 countries are members of the UNCTAD. The organisation employs

approximately 400 staff members. The Secretary-General of UNCTAD is Dr. Supachai

Panitchpakdi (Thailand), who took office on 1 September 2005. The annual regular budget

amounts to 55 million USD financed by the member states and additionally 27 million. USD

financed from extra budgetary resources for technical cooperation.

3.5.1. Mandate

The aim of UNCTAD is to assist developing countries in the efforts to integrate into the world

economy on an equitable basis. Furthermore they try to optimize developing countries trade,

investment and development opportunities.

The organization works to fulfil this mandate by carrying out three key functions:

• It functions as a forum for intergovernmental deliberations, supported by

discussions with experts and exchanges of experience, aimed at consensus building.

• It undertakes research, policy analysis and data collection for the debates of

government representatives and experts.

• It provides technical assistance tailored to the specific requirements of developing

countries, with special attention to the needs of the least developed countries and of

economies in transition. When appropriate, UNCTAD cooperates with other organisations

and donor countries in the delivery of technical assistance.

In performing its functions, the secretariat works together with member Governments and

interacts with organisations of the United Nations system and regional commissions, as well

as with governmental institutions, non-governmental organisations, the private sector,

including trade and industry associations, research institutes and universities worldwide.


- 34 -

3.5.2. Main Activities

Trade

The main problems developing countries faced in this area were; tariffs on products of

interest, tariff escalation, NTB´s (Non tariff barriers) and subsidies. The measures taken by

the UNCTAD were the following:

Intergovernmental measures:

Generalized system of preferences (GSP, 1968)

Generalized system of trade preferences (GSTP, 1989)

Policy Analysis on GATT/WTO negotiations

Providing a neutral forum during the negotiations

Technical Assistance through Training and Capacity building on:

WTO accession

WTO rules, fulfilling standard

ASYCUDA (www.asycuda.org customs atomization in 80 countries), port

management

Modelling studies

Commodities

The main problems in the trade of commodities are the volatile and declining prices. The

measures taken by the UNCTAD are the following:

• Commodity Agreements / Common Fund

• Risk management methods

• Technical cooperation in the form of; market studies (Infocomm;

www.unctad.org/infocomm ), training in modern financial risk management,

diversification of industries and Fair Trade.


- 35 -

Least developed countries

UNCTAD draws attention to the particular problems of the least developed countries (per

capita GDP < 750 US $, composite index on nutrition, health, education and adult literacy and

economic vulnerability index). In the year 1971 a number of 25 states fell in this category, by

2005 the number doubled. The following measures are taken to help these countries:

• Organisation of LDC – Least Developed Countries conferences (Brussels 2001)

• Publication of LDC report

• Technical assistance

Development strategies

For long term development of the member countries the UNCTAD tries to address

macroeconomic questions as FX-rate regimes and debt management. Furthermore they raised

their voice regarding structural adjustment policies, in case financial crisis. In addition they

also work on debt management / relief, where they already managed to half the official debt

of the developing world. Another important part of their work is to support them in their

membership of the IMF and WB.

Investment

On a global scale there is an unequal distribution of FDI flows. As for the year 2003 the main

part (2/3) was flowing to developed countries and the rest mostly to large developing

countries. The UNCTAD therefore tries to help small developing countries to attract and

profit from FDI. The measures taken in order to achieve these goals are the following:

• Data collection and analysis of new trends (World Investment Report)

• Policy research and development questions (e.g. ensuring technology transfer)

• Technical assistance in the form of; drafting investment laws, publishing investment

guides and setting up investment promotion agencies.


- 36 -

3.5.3. Organizational Structure

The Trade and Development Board

In the four years between the meetings of the conferences, UNCTAD’s work is guided by the

Trade and Development Board. Board membership is open to all States members of

UNCTAD, and accredited intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations enjoy

observer status.

The Board meets in Geneva once a year in regular session and up to three times a year in

executive sessions to deal with ad hoc policy and institutional issues.

The Commissions

The Trade and Development Board currently has three Commissions that meet once a year to

address policy issues in specific areas and provide guidance for the work of the secretariat.

These Commissions are:

• Commission on Trade in Goods and Services, and Commodities

• Commission on Investment, Technology and Related Financial Issues

• Commission on Enterprise, Business Facilitation and Development

The UNCTAD secretariat also services the Commission on Science and Technology for

Development (CSTD), which is a subsidiary body of the United Nations Economic and Social

Council.

Ministerial Conference

Trade & Development Board

Trade Commission

Investment Commission

Enterprise Commission

Technology Commission

Expert Meetings


- 37 -

These Commissions allow Governments to exchange views on policy issues in their

respective ambits. As in all of UNCTAD’s intergovernmental bodies, decisions of the

Commissions are taken by consensus, and thus agreed conclusions and recommendations

reflect the collective political will of UNCTAD’s membership.

Expert Meetings

The work of the Commissions is supported by discussions among specialised technical

experts in specific fields. Up to 10 such Expert Meetings are convened by the Commissions

every year. They allow the Government representatives attending the Commissions to take

advantage of valuable technical input from academics, practitioners and the private sector.

3.5.4. Future Outlook

UNCTAD has continued to play a crucial role in emphasizing the development dimension

of issues in the fields of international trade and investment and related areas. In particular,

UNCTAD has been addressing the imbalances of globalisation and the need to overcome the

supply constraints of developing countries, so as to ensure development gains and poverty

reduction. This is captured in the theme of the UNCTAD XI Ministerial Conference, where

below one can screen the content.

3.5.5. Summary of Lecture

First of all before describing the

lecture it is important to mention the

events before. As agreed we were at

the entrance 2 o’clock pm, but due to

security reasons, we had first walk

again back to another building were

our badges were issued. The whole

procedure accounted for

approximately one hour, what lead to

a delay of our arrival in the

UNCTAD building of an hour. This delay caused a cut of the lecture by the half, what meant

Moritz Meier-Ewert, lecture at UNCTAD


- 38 -

to the audience that especially the question and answer session was shortened quite

substantially. Nevertheless the lecture held by Moritz Meier-Ewert gave a clear picture about

UNCTAD. He introduced the organisation with a short historical introduction, explained then

the principal activities, which were always illustrated by practical examples and finalized his

official part of the lecture with the outline of the organizational structure. Although the Q & A

session was short, he was able to answer the emerged questions in a competent and clear

manner, which gave us a quite good insight into the organisations work.

In short, it was a pleasure to get first hand information from this competent lecturer.

3.6. OECD

The roots of the OECD go back to the post war period of the Second World War and are in

direct connection with the Marshall Plan. In the year 1948, 18 European countries decided to

found the forerunner of the OECD, the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation

(OEEC) in order to develop a common concept for the economic reconstruction and

cooperation for the countries. The primary goal has been to involve the European Countries

within the decision process how to use the money available in the European Recovery

Program. The headquarters for this permanent established organisation was in Paris, France.

The principles of the OEEC were: to promote the cooperation between the countries and to

reach a reduction in tariffs or other barriers to trade between them, studying the feasibility of a

custom union, improving the conditions in order to utilize the labour force more efficient and

analysing the multi lateralisation of payments. Another main task for the OEEC was the

creation of the European Payment Union in order to fight against the inconvertibility of the

currency.

In the year 1961 the OEEC was substituted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation

and Development (OECD), which can be seen as an economic counterpart to NATO, and

allowed entering membership also for non European Countries like the USA and Canada.

Member countries are pledged to work together to promote their economies, to extend aid to

underdeveloped nations, and to contribute to the expansion of world trade. Agencies operating


- 39 -

under the OECD include the Centre for Educational Research and Innovation, the

Development Centre, and the European Nuclear Energy Agency. Today the OECD group is

formed by 30 countries committed to market economy and democracy; furthermore it

cooperates with 70 other countries, NGOs and civil society. Considering the fact that the 30

member countries produce 60 % of the worlds goods and services it is obvious that within this

organisation also power is concentrated, that allows improving policy and implement “soft

law” on a “Peer pressure” principle, which later on can lead as well to formal agreements or

treaties.

In this forum economic, social and governance challenges are addressed. It allows an

exchange of policy experiences and seeks answers to common problems including matters

like bribery, education, energy, environment which consequently should foster prosperity and

fight poverty. From main importance in this whole process of actions are the underlying

information provided by the secretariat which collects data, monitors trends and analyses and

forecasts economic developments. Worth to mention is that the OECD counts to the world’s

largest and most trustworthy sources of comparable statistical, economic and social data.

3.6.1. Public Affairs & Communications Directorate

The OECD directorate of public affairs and communication is one of the 15 OECD

directorates that operate under the secretariat. The following organisation chart shows clearly

where it can be found in the overall organisation of the OECD:


- 40 -

(Source: http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/37/13/2348887.pdf; OECD Organizational Chart)


- 41 -

The main activities of this department can be divided into three major tasks, namely media

relations, public affairs and publishing. In the following I will give a short overview of these

three major areas of activity:

Media Relations

The division for Media Relations provides up-to-date information on the OECD’s work for

the world’s media.

Public Affaires

The Public Affaires department is responsible for the co-operation with business, labour,

parliamentarians, civil society and the general public with the goal to build trust in public

institutions and promote understanding of economic and social change. As such this

department makes an important contribution to the work of the OECD.

Publishing

This department is responsible for OECD publications which can be mainly found in the field

of Economics and Public Policy and range form studies like internationally comparable

statistics, analysis, outlooks to country surveys. The organisation publishes around 250 titles a

year in English and in French, with selected titles translated into other languages.

Information about publications is available through the OECD in Paris, OECD offices in

Berlin, Tokyo, Mexico City and Washington. The publications can be acquired either as book

(print form) or as digital version which can be downloaded on www.oecd.org. In the course

of the lecture the guest speaker offered access to this database for all IMC students – meaning

that all students can access it until the end of may with the following account data: User:

21499 / Password: aprmay.

Furthermore publications can also be purchased in the OECD Online Bookshop

(http://www.oecdbookshop.org/) or through their own distributors (see:

http://www.oecd.org). In addition to that there is the Organisation’s own public magazine,

the “OECD Observer”, that keeps readers up to date on key issues related to OECD work

(www.oecdobserver.org).


- 42 -

3.6.2. Austrian Delegation

Since 14th December 1960 – the time of signing the Convention on founding the Organisation

for Economic Co- Operation and Development – Austria is a permanent member of the

OECD together with other 19 countries. That means a full dedication to achieving the various

fundamental aims of the Organisation. The main purpose of the Austrian delegation in Paris

which acts as a link between Austria and the OECD is to present, support and carry through

Austrian interests concerning the OECD procedures and general questions on Austria’s

position. This has to be done especially in the Council and concerning ministries. Another

task is the preparation of the annual OECD Council of Ministers as the sectoral minister

councils.

Currently there are 8 Austrians working at the OECD Secretariat and Austria chairs in 8

committees. Members of the Austrian Delegation monitor the work of the OECD’s various

committees as well as the activities of the Development Centre, the European Conference of

Ministers of Transport, the International Energy Agency, the Nuclear Energy Agency and the

Sahel and West Africa Club, of which Austria is a member. Austrian delegates participate in

213 different committees and other subgroups and in total there are 331 Austrian participates

in 475 OECD meetings.

To be a permanent member means for Austria first of all to maintain a permanent delegation

to the OECD, this is composed of diplomats and an ambassador. Austrian’s ambassador is a

member of the Council and agrees to the programme of work, validates with his peer the

strategic work and additionally establishes the volume of the annual budget along with

contributions being assessed according to the size of the economy of each country.

Due to all those facts it can be said that the Delegation plays an important communication role

in providing a kind of link between the OECD Secretariat and the national authorities. It

represents the positions and statements of the Austrian government in the negotiations

indicating some areas in which the OECD expertise is needed. Thus they have the possibility

to forward the recommendations and advices of the OECD, insuring in this way a good fit

between OECD work and the proceeding and other affected issues of the home country.


- 43 -

All Federal Ministries of Austria are affected by the OECD programme and therefore they

represent diverse Austrian interests in the working groups and the responsible committees.

The Federal Chancellor ministry deals with the administration and coordination of the

Austrian position. At the moment some studies on Austria are worked out by the OECD as

well.

Finally some essential benefits for Austria from OECED membership have to be mentioned.

First of all, the OECD provides important tools to analyse and monitor economic, social and

environmental policies. Next each member country can draw on the OECD’s great expertise,

including reviews and surveys and access all of the concluded research and analysis. Among

major advantages of OECD participation is the access to a forum within which countries have

the possibility to discuss national experience, share and identify best practices and find

solutions to common problems.

It is possible to contact Austrian Delegation at the OECD under the following address:

Ständige Vertretung Österreichs bei der OECD 3, rue Albéric Magnard, F-75016 Paris

Tel.: +331/ 53 92 23 30,

Fax: +331/ 40 50 87 05

e-mail: [email protected]

3.6.3. Summary of Lecture by Mr. Jochen Picht (OECD Department of Public Affairs

and Communication)

After a very warm welcome in the OECD’s most important and really picturesque hall, Mr.

Jochen Picht gave us a brief introduction and general overview of the OECD.

As Mr. Picht works within the Department of Public Affairs and Communication he

demonstrated us how to use one of the OECD’s latest achievements, the new OECD online

library (www.sourceoecd.org). This library offers us the unique possibility to set up statistical

data according to our specific needs. One can choose the type of data (specific countries or

regions, economic data, etc.), type of diagram, periods under review and select only those

categories which are of relevance and transfer them directly to an Excel spreadsheet.


- 44 -

Apart from statistical data the OECD is an important provider of databases, reports,

publications and economic outlooks. As an example the OECD distributed free samples of the

OECD Factbook 2006 to all students, comprising 100 indicators with definitions, time-series

tables and graphics.

Moreover Mr. Picht gave us an insight of

the procedure of collecting the data, which

could sometimes be a very hard procedure

and could last for several years. However,

the effort the OECD puts into collecting the

data pays off because this institution is seen

as a very reliable provider for accurate data

and not few organisations base their

findings on OECD data. We could also

verify this during our subsequent lectures, which all mentioned the OECD as a provider of

their data findings.

We think it was a great opportunity to get an in-depth insight into one branch of the OECD’s

activities and we really appreciated the opportunity to get a “special training on how to use

the OECD online-library” by an expert. As I could read out of one of Anis’ emails the IMC is

already trying to establish contacts to use the OECD online-library permanently. So far we

have only got the password to use it for the months of April and May. (Username: 21449,

password: aprmay)

3.6.4. Summary of Lecture by Ms. Scheffel (Austrian delegation)

The lecture given by Ms. Sandra Scheffel about the Austrian delegation of public governance

in the OECD was concentrating on the OECD itself as well as on the role of Austria within

the organisation.

In the beginning of the presentation a short overview about the OECD was given. In its very

beginning the organisation was the political arm of the Marshall plan, however, often was

seen as a "club of rich countries". In the recent past the OECD got the fame of being a think-

tank for liberalisation and a Boy Scout for globalization.

Main meeting hall at the OECD, Paris


- 45 -

As OECD’s member states represent

59% of BIP generated all over the

world and 18% of world population,

the important role of the OECD in

world policies can not be doubted.

The budget of 329.4 million Euros is

contributed by member countries; the

exact contribution is calculated in

accordance to the country’s

respective GDP.

Austria and the OECD:

Because the OECD’s working program affects Austria on all national ministry levels,

Austrian interests have to be represented in OECD’s committees and working groups. This is

done by the Austrian ministries itself. However, administrative and content coordination of

Austria’s position is with the Office of Federal Chancellor. To ensure the above mentioned

representation constantly the Austrian government delegated fourteen people to Paris, the

Austrian Delegation to the OECD. Out of these fourteen employees, ten are responsible for

content work and four are assistants.

The main tasks of the delegation are to be the interface between Austria and the OECD and to

preserve Austria’s interests on OECD level. It also has to represent the position of Austria on

general questions concerning the organisation. It has to provide Austria with information of

OECD activities and studies which may include recommendations which interests the

ministries should foster and OECD’s opinion on current reforms in Austria. In addition to that

the delegation organizes the annual council of ministers.

Current studies to Austria:

Current studies on Austria are “Ageing and Employment Policies”, “Reforming Federal Fiscal

Relations” and “Environmental Policy Review”.

Ms. Sandra Scheffel, Austrian Delegation, OECD, Paris


- 46 -

Internship possibilities:

Internships are only offered to people who are already working in a ministry. Nevertheless,

the Austrian delegation can provide assistance for an application for internship with OECD.

Additional information can be found at www.oecd.org/austria and Miss Scheffel can be

contacted via the following email address: [email protected]

After the lecture a question and answer session took place. Questions included topics like the

enlargement of the OECD and entrance criteria. Here is to say that until now a mechanism

with defined criteria does not exist. It is more a political and strategic decision whether a

country can join OECD or not. However, efforts are made to establish a more transparent

method.

3.7. International Energy Agency

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is an autonomous agency, linked with

the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), based

in Paris.

The organisation was founded after the Oil shock in 1974 as an

intergovernmental organisation with the initial purpose of coordinating measures in times of

oil supply emergencies. Nowadays, it additionally focuses on broader energy issues, including

climate change policies, market reforms, energy technology collaboration and outreach to the

rest of the world.

The Agency is composed of five Standing Groups and Committees which are:

• The Standing Group on Emergency Questions

• The Standing Group on long-term co-operation

• The Standing Group on the Oil Market which assists member countries to respond

effectively to changes in market conditions.


- 47 -

• Committee on Non-Member Countries focusing especially on strengthening co-

operation with Russia, China and India

• Committee on Energy Research and Technology

The organisation’s main decision making body is the Governing board which is composed of

senior energy officials from each member country that are supported by the members of the

Secretariat also drawn from the member countries. It collects and analyses energy data

assesses member countries domestic energy policies and programmes, makes projections

based on different scenarios and prepares recommendations on specialised energy topics.

Main objectives of the International Energy Agency include:

• Maintaining and improving systems for coping with oil supply disruptions

• Promote rational energy policies

• Operate a permanent information system on the international oil market

• Improve energy supply and demand structure by developing alternative energy sources

• Assist in the integration of environmental and energy policies

The IEA acts as an energy policy advisor for its 26 member countries, among them most of

OECD member countries, in their effort to ensure reliable and clean energy for their citizens.

These member countries cooperate among each other in order to increase their collective

energy security through diversification of their energy sources and improved energy

efficiency and at the same time ensuring competitiveness and protection of the environment.

What’s more, IEA member countries commit themselves to take measures to meet any oil

supply emergency and reduce the dependence on oil in the long term via promoting natural

gas, nuclear power and renewable energy sources.

3.7.1. Department (Energy Efficiency and Environment Division)

In order to guarantee long-term energy security basic conditions within the energy sector must

be considered such as diversity, efficiency and flexibility. It is important that fuels, used

within as well as across sectors, together with their sources are diverse as practicable in order

to not to rely only on one source and thus waste this source completely. As a matter of fact,

hydro power as well as, unfortunately, nuclear power contributes substantially to the diversity

of energy supply of IEA countries.


- 48 -

Through improved energy efficiency both environmental protection and energy security in a

cost-effective manner can be supported. Energy efficiency has a great potential at all stages of

the energy cycle from production to consumption. Thus strong efforts by Governments and all

energy users are required to realise these opportunities.

The energy efficiency department supports governments in showing how they could be more

sufficient and efficient through various statistics and reports.

In order to achieve these above mentioned objectives governments, states and also the IEA

does research on a continued basis. A further critical contribution is the development and

market deployment of new and improved energy technologies. The IEA suggests that energy

technology policies should be added to broader energy policies and encourages an

international co-operation in the development and dissemination of energy technologies,

including industry participation and co-operation, also with non-Member countries.

3.7.2. Summary of Lecture by Ms. Philipine de T’Sercalaes

Ms. Philipine de T’Sercalaes presented us an overview on the work of the International

Energy Agency, with an emphasis on Energy Efficiency and Energy Labelling. The

importance of Energy Efficiency was furthermore highlighted by showing its uses,

applications and potentials. Energy Efficiency is very valuable for the assessment of current

energy uses as well as assessing possibilities for improvement. The International Energy

Agency derives its relevance from the widespread application if its recommendations and

prevalent use of its policy suggestions (e.g. the recommended IEA Energy Labelling is

applied by the European Union). As conclusion, the presentation of Ms. Philipine de

T’Sercalaes provided us with a fascinating insight into the workings of the IEA, with a special

emphasis on Energy Efficiency.


- 49 -

3.8. DEXIA

Dexia was born out of the 1996 alliance of the

two major European players in local public

finance: Crédit Local de France and Crédit

Communal de Belgique. Dexia forms one of the

first cross-border mergers in the European

banking sector, which is today one of the top

fifteen banking groups in the euro zone.

Dexia operates on two principal markets: local

public institutions and the retail market. On the

first market, Dexia occupies a leading position

on a world scale, and on the second its field of

action is regional.

Since the acquisition in 2000 of Financial

Securities Assurance (FSA), in the United States,

Dexia has been market leader in providing

financing to the local public sector. The Group has several subsidiaries in the principal

industrialised countries of the world.

Dexia is a first class retail bank in Belgium and in Luxembourg. In Belgium, Dexia Bank

offers a complete range of banking services to its domestic clientele. In Luxembourg, Dexia

BIL occupies an important position. Principally from its base in Luxembourg, Dexia has

developed private banking services for affluent clients in various European countries.

The group has capitalised on the know-how and the distribution network of Dexia BIL in

Luxembourg in sectors such as asset management and fund administration. The acquisition of

Artesia in 2001 contributed additional competences and activities, notably in asset

management and insurance services which are now combined in this business line with a view

to offering innovative high-performance products. These products are distributed through

Dexia distribution channels.

The commercial activities of Dexia imply an extremely active presence on the capital

markets, whether in refinancing or the development of sophisticated solutions and products

Dexia Building in Paris


- 50 -

intended for the clients of the various business lines.

The very nature of Dexia's activities, the roots and the values to which the Group marks its

attachment, confer upon it a distinctive signature in a universe of financial organisations as a

"bank for sustainable development".

3.8.1. Business Lines

Public project financing and credit enhancement

Recognised for its expertise and savoir-faire in the field of local authority financing and

financial services in the public sector, Dexia is world leader on that market. Dexia has built its

expertise in Belgium and France where its market share is of 80% and 42%, respectively,

thanks to continuous financial and technological innovation. It is active mainly in Europe,

North America and the Asia-Pacific region and its presence is growing in other parts of the

world.

Retail financial services

Dexia develops its retail banking activities in Belgium, Luxembourg and Slovakia. In

Belgium in example it offers a complete range of banking and insurance services to its

clientele of households and small and medium-size enterprises. In private banking, the group

is active in Belgium and Luxembourg, but also in France, Spain and Switzerland.

Investment management services

Asset management, fund administration and insurance services are all included in this

business line in order to offer performing and innovative products.

Capital markets and treasury activities

The Treasury and Financial Markets business line ensures Group funding in the short and

long term and makes it possible to offer clients of the Group's commercial businesses a broad

range of market products.


- 51 -

3.8.2. Summary of Lecture

An introduction to the topic of local finance in the European Union is given in this

presentation; focusing on the major indicators (expenditure, capital expenditure, tax revenue,

budget balance and debt). Not only does this give a major insight into this topic but also a

picture of the key figures and happenings which have to be considered in evaluating the local

finance infrastructure.

Local Public Expenditure

Generally speaking local public expenditure has been steadily rising over the period of 1999

to 2004. This can be reasoned differently in the specific market of the European Union.

Within the EU-15 partly this is due to rising spending in social and healthcare projects and

partly due to strong general economic growth. In addition, especially in Greece and Ireland it

can be attributed to the European subsidies received. It can be stated that the EU-15’s local

public expenditure (app. 4%) has a high percentage share of GDP; nevertheless app. 2% lower

than the EU-10 average (app. 6%).

This trend is also observed when looking at the year 2004; hereby referring to the EU-25. As

an example, can be seen the Olympic Games taking place in Greece, which contributed a

great deal to the rise in local public expenditure.


- 52 -

Local public capital expenditure

The rather sharp increase of local public capital expenditure in the EU-15 between 1999 and

2001 followed a slow down, nevertheless, a steady rise to the year 2004. Comparing the

average annual rate in the period of 1999-2004 of the EU-15 and EU-10, the latter obviously

shows a higher number meaning 5.8% versus 3% of the former. This shows the amazing

investment necessities in the EU-10, which was also continued if looked at the year 2004 in

detail. As a matter of fact the local public capital expenditure rose by 3.4% at a quiet faster

rate compared to the EU-15 (+1.5%). One major reason for this boost can be seen in the

European regional funding; whereas in many EU-15 countries the moderate rise can be

attributed to the trend of public-private partnership financing.

Local Tax Revenue

Local tax revenue also increased at a steady pace in the EU-15, and with a sharper boost from

2001 onwards. The annual average from 1999 to 2001 was 4.8%; here it has to be added that a

major contributor to this average is Spain, due to restructuring, namely shifting finance

responsibilities to the regions. Deducting Spain from the annual average stated above, the rate

would only be 2.6% for the overall period in the EU-15. This trend can also be observed in

the EU-10, even though at a slightly higher percentage of 5.2%.

Looking specifically on the year 2004, the upward trend continued in both groups of

countries; nevertheless the EU-10 show a rise of 24,8% compared to the EU-15 with an

increase of 5,3%. Here it has to be stated that the mentioned percentage can be judged as a

rather dynamic rise within the EU-15.

Local Budget Balance

In the EU-15 the local public budget became a deficit by the year 2001, ending in a

percentage of 0.22% of GDP by the year 2004. Nevertheless within this group of countries the

local public budget reached from a deficit of 0.94% in Italy to a surplus of 0.19% in Ireland.

Generally seen the EU-10 seem to having recovered from the great deficits of the years 1999

and 2001, so as to show only 0.05% deficit of GDP in the year 2004; hence continuing the

positive trend.


- 53 -

Local Public Debt

The EU-15 show a continuous upward trend of local public debt; namely to 5.8% of GDP in

2004. This number shows a twice as fast increase compared to the year 2003. Nevertheless

local public debt increases slower than GDP lowering its share of GDP. A significant rise of

local public debt can be seen in the EU-10 since 1999, reaching an annual increase of 22.4%

in 2004. However, its ratio to GDP is healthier (2%) compared to the EU-15.


- 54 -

4. Diaries

4.1. Saturday & Sunday (22.04 – 23.04.2006)

Very anxious to get started, we all

gathered at 7:15 after a wonderful

spring afternoon, at the Bus Station in

Krems. After the luggage has been

loaded, the last snacks and drinks

have been purchased and a nice cup

of ice cream the final check started.

The notorious passport list has been

drawn and everybody had to verify

that their passport was ‘onboard’. Without any major troubles we were able to take off at

eight o’clock sharp. After a little while, dusk faded to night and we had our first stop of the

tour at the rest stop in Mondsee. This, of many eagerly awaited stops, lasted for about 20

minutes before we hit the road westbound again. The following drive through the night was

accompanied by good movies, illustrious rounds, many warnings to refrain from using the

toilets and a little bit of sleep. After a short delay at the border we drove right across the

country of alphorns, cheese and neutrality, and made a breakfast stop of around 30 minutes

early in the morning. At ten o’clock we had arrived at our hotel, right across the border of

Geneva, on French soil. Our check-in has been scheduled for eleven o’clock, so we took the

chance and explored the surrounding area and got a little snack to eat. Since the lack of sleep

tore heavily on most of us, we made use of our comfortable beds for a little while, only to get

up again and start with sightseeing. Soon we discovered that Geneva was a nice quiet city and

that a Pizza costs easily 13 euros. But that didn’t hinder us from strolling through the narrow

alleys of the picturesque old town and sunbathing on the Quay. In the evening the general

tenor was to get something to eat and off to the rooms for a good night’s rest.

Students after the arrival in the Hotel near Geneva


- 55 -

4.2. Monday (24.04.2006)

Our first full day in Geneva started early, namely at 7 a.m., when we met for breakfast in the

hotel. After breakfast we met again at 7:45 a.m. to depart to the centre of Geneva. Finally we

left the hotel at 8 a.m. Luckily we planned in enough time, as in Geneva streets were

considerably jammed and it took quite long until we eventually reached the United Nations

building-complex. When we arrived at the United Nations at 9 a.m. things really seemed to be

set for a nice day of sightseeing as the weather was sunny and warm. However, our first

appointment was scheduled for 9:30.

At 9:30 we were welcomed by Mr. Jakob of the United Nations Economic Conference on

Europe (UNECE). He delivered a very insightful speech including topics such as general

information, product standardisation, energy and trade and later on stood ready for a

questions-and-answers session.

Our program continued

with a briefing on the

World Trade

Organization (WTO). A

representative of the

WTO’s Trade and

Services Division

introduced us to the

WTO in general and

continued to talk about

the role of the

secretariat, the current

negotiations on agriculture and the generally rather troublesome situation in the negotiation

process within the Doha Round. The speech was followed by a discussion in which students

had the opportunity to ask questions.

Shortly before noon we were split into two groups in order to take a tour through the United

Nations building-complex. This tour took us through all major buildings, also including the

older buildings in which the League of Nations was founded after World War One. We even

had the opportunity to visit the League’s main conference room which certainly was an

exiting moment for all of us. Our tour guide went on to show us other conference rooms.

Breakfast room in the

Ibis Hotel near Geneva


- 56 -

Among them was the most modern and biggest room which can seat an astounding 2000

delegates for large summits.

After the tour we had lunch in the cafeteria of the Red Cross Museum. Some lasagne and

salad had been ordered for us in advance for a special price.

After lunch a program continued with a visit to the International Red Cross Museum in which

we were given a very interesting tour. Our tour guide who worked for the museum on a

voluntary basis elaborated on topics such as the history, the background, the Red Cross’s

position in many wars and its role nowadays.

At approximately 4 p.m. the official part of the program ended. Almost everyone went on to

do some sightseeing in Geneva. Later on unfortunately the weather turned bad and it started to

rain.

Facing bad weather and a probably strenuous next day, everyone returned home rather early

in order to relax and rest after a long and interesting day.

4.3. Tuesday (25.04.2006)

In the morning we already

loaded our entire luggage in

to the bus, to be ready for

our journey to Paris.

The first point of our

programme today, was a

visit to the International

Labour organisation. We

there had a lecture about the

ILO in general, but what

exactly the organisation

does and our lecture was

about will be described later on. What is important to write in our diary about the ILO is that

they had a wonderful patio where we could spend some time and enjoy the sun. The ILO also

had a quite extensive library we could have a look at and learn more about the organisation.

Checking out of the Ibis Hotel


- 57 -

The second part of or programme today was a visit to the UNCTAD. We had quite some time

to get from the ILO to the UNCTAD building – and we were already confident that this could

be the first time, since we arrived in Geneva, that we would make it on time to an

organization. Well, what we did not calculate in our schedule was that it takes more than an

hour to get the badges for everybody to enter the building. Those badges were printed for

everybody individually and the building where we got the badges was a 15 minute walk from

the building we had the lecture in. In the end everybody got a badge and we could participate

in the interesting lecture about the UNCTAD.

After that, we had the rest of

the day off until the departure

to Paris at 23:00. By the way

the departure time was

changed from 22:00 to 23:00

because our male colleagues

wanted to watch the

champions league soccer

game Arsenal – Villa Real.

So one part of the class was

searching for a bar where they

could watch the game which by the way ended with a 0:0, and the others tried to find some

inexpensive dinner – which can be a bit difficult in Switzerland.

At 11pm everybody had found their way to the bus and we were ready to start our second

long bus ride, from Geneva to Paris.

4.4. Wednesday (26.04.2006)

Wednesday was our first day in Paris. At 23:00 sharp we wanted to leave Geneva – what we

also did after the last of us completely exhausted entered the bus three minutes later. Soon

after “taking off” we started the day/night with a movie in order to make the journey less

boring. “Oceans 11” was put on TV (and for whatever reason was partly watched twice).

Spare time activities: IMC students enjoying the free evening in Geneva


- 58 -

When the movie was finished finally everyone became tired and most of us fell asleep as far

as this was possible (thanks god the driver didn’t).

When those who were able to sleep woke up we had already reached Paris. After making a

short break in order to avoid the Parisian morning traffic we arrived at our hotel (Holiday Inn

Garden Court Paris-Porte de Saint Ouen) at about 9 o‘clock. As already anticipated the rooms

were unfortunately still not ready so we stored our entire luggage in two of our rooms. Then

our first day in Paris could be started. A breakfast for about 30 people could be negotiated

(though negotiations seemed to be quite tough), so some of us could have something to eat at

the hotel.

But the hardest problem was only

about to come: unfortunately there

was no parking space for the bus

near our hotel. Quite clearly one

needed to find a solution for this

problem and again it was up to our

chief Sheila to organize this. After

further negotiations with the hotel

manager (which took nearly seven

hours) the fight with French

bureaucracy was won by her and

our bus was placed somewhere on

the outskirts of the city where it

stayed for the rest of the week.

As we had a free day for recovery

everyone did whatever he liked.

Small groups were formed

according to interests and more or

less intensive sightseeing tours were started as those who had never been to Paris before were

already eager to look around. This is why some of the most famous sights of the beautiful city

were visited. In most of the cases those included some of the following: Arc de Triomphe,

Champs-Élysées, Place de Concorde, Louvre, Notre Dame, Quartier Latin, Montmartre, some

museums and, quite clearly, the Eiffel tower.

Also the evening program was rather diverse. Some were exhausted from the sightseeing

marathon and therefore decided to spend their first night in Paris at the hotel in order to

Looking for information

brochures in the Holiday Inn in

Paris


- 59 -

recover. Others tested some French bars and had some drinks there while some also passed by

at the well-known club “Queens”.

Only one of us suffered heavy consequences from our long lasting journey from Geneva to

Paris and the following sightseeing tour. In desperate need for a doctor again problems with

the hotel reception occurred as the mission of getting one to the hotel was not as easy as it

seemed to be. The receptionists simply were not willing to call one so this time our colleague

Monika helped out. More or less shouting at the hotel staff she could finally solve this issue

and our colleague was brought to a hospital nearby where she, some friends and Anis spent

(most of) the night.

This is how the day passed by. After spending a wonderful first day in Paris everyone sooner

or later fell asleep and was excitedly looking forward to the following days in Paris.

4.5. Thursday (27.04.2006)

Thursday is our second day in Paris. After the free Wednesday we had a tighter program on

this day. Nevertheless the whole morning was free for sightseeing or recreation. Most

participants used it to explore the city; for example the business quarter of La Défense with its

grand Esplanade. Other groups were more interested in the cultural richness of Paris and

visited the Picasso Museum. Although there is the possibility of free entry to the famous

Louvre for students on Friday night, a group already experienced the great painting sculptures

and other pieces of art in this marvellous building. Some people used the morning for

recreation after a long Wednesday night to be fit for the afternoon program with the various

international institutions. 4 persons participated in an international student competition in

Riga and left at noon to fly to Latvia

We participated in 3 lectures in the afternoon. In contrary to Geneva, where our bus took us to

the international institutions, we had to find our own way to the location. Thanks to the good

metro system of Paris this was not a problem at all. All 3 lectures were held at the OECD

premises not very far from the Eiffel Tower. After passing the obligatory security checks our

lectures took place in a nice conference room which is usually reserved for official OECD

meetings. Thanks to our big group size we had the pleasure to use this special room. The first


- 60 -

lecture started at 3:00 pm and was held by Mr. Jochen Picht, a manager in the Public Affairs

and Communications Directorate. He informed us about the structure and history of OECD.

Special emphasize was put on how to access data on the web page of sourceOECD.org. After

the in-depth explanation of this service Mr. Picht gave us a trial login and password for this

web page.

In the break we had the opportunity to access the web in the entrance hall and buy snacks for

very reasonable prices (for Parisian standards) at the buffet. The second lecture dealt with the

role of the Austrian delegation at the OECD. Ms. Sandra Scheffel told us more about the

OECD specifically from the Austrian point of view. The last lecture of this day was held by

Ms. Philipine de T’Sercalaes from the International Energy Agency in Paris. She works and

the Energy Efficiency and Environment Division and therefore explained us about the Energy

Outlook for 2030 and how to save energy. In the presentation she had a lot of graphs and data

supporting her information but unfortunately the time frame was so tight that we could not go

into detail and much further discussion. As Ms. T’Sercalaes had to leave at 5:15 the official

program for the day was finished with the obligatory IMC family picture.

The evening was free for

sightseeing. Most students

used it to eat dinner in the

city. One group went to

the Eiffel Tower and set

out for the top platform. It

took nearly 4 hours to

move up and down again

because of the big crowds

of tourists this night. The

waiting time paid off with a great view of Paris by night including the boats and buildings at

the Seine River. Some participants tried their luck in a casino at the Champs Elysees. They

did not return in a limousine back to the hotel but they enjoyed the casino atmosphere.

Romantic atmosphere: Dusk at the Seine in Paris


- 61 -

4.6. Friday (28.04.2006)

Today is Friday the 28th of April, and by the way a very festive day, as it is the birthday of

Sheila, Verena and Petra.

The day already started very early in the

morning for some of us because they were

going to the palace of Versaille. The journey

lasted for approximately one hour.

Unfortunately the weather was not good so

they couldn’t relax in the beautiful park that

surrounds the palace of Versaille. More details

about Versaille can be read in tomorrow’s

diary report.

Furthermore a few of us were exploring the

shopping centre Les Halles. Les Halles is

located in the 1st district. It is named after the

large central wholesale marketplace, which

was demolished in 1971, to be replaced with

an underground modern shopping centre, the

Forum des Halles. Interesting is that the open

air centre area is below street level, and it

contains sculptures, fountains, and mosaics.

After the stressing shopping tour we were heading towards the church Notre Dame.

Notre Dame is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It was one of the first gothic cathedrals, and was

built throughout the Gothic period. Its sculptures and stained glass show the heavy influence

of naturalism. It is located on the western half of the Île de la Cité and has its main entrance to

the west.

In the afternoon we had the opportunity to go to the Dexia bank and listen to an interesting

lecture there.

At about six p.m. the majority was visiting the museum Louvre.

The Louvre Museum is one of the largest and most famous museums in the world. The

building, a former royal palace, lies in the centre of Paris, between the river Seine and the Rue

On the Champs Élysees, Paris


- 62 -

de Rivoli. Its central courtyard, now occupied by the Louvre Pyramid, lies in the axis of the

Champs-Élysées.

At night birthday parties were going on all over the place.

4.7. Saturday & Sunday (29.04 – 30.04)

As a result of Paris Friday’s

nightlife, some of us had the chance

to meet other colleagues at the hotel

lobby early Saturday morning

before going to sleep. After a nice

reception with a fresh glass of water

of one of our colleagues, some of us

stayed up until breakfast was ready

at 7:00 h. Due to the exploration of

Paris nightlife not all of us managed

to visit “Château de Versailles” Saturday morning. But still some of us took the opportunity to

leave the hotel in the morning and visit Versailles, as our departure from Paris was scheduled

for 6 o’clock in the afternoon. From our hotel one could easily take the metro & train to

access Château de Versailles in about one hour.

One hint in order to avoid a long waiting time at the Château’s entrance:

There is the possibility to buy the “Transilien leisure package” in advance which is a

combining return transport with the One Day Pass of the Château de Versailles. It’s sold at

the SNCF Transilien ticket windows in train stations, areas 1 to 6 and at the Espace du

Tourisme Ile-de-France in the Carrousel of the Louvre. Furthermore the FNAC store offers

the possibility to purchase in advance a One Day Pass, Admission to the Château and

Admission to the Grand and Petit Trianon at the FNAC ticket counters.

There are three different ways to explore the Château de Versailles, its gardens, and the Grand

and Petit Trianons: independent visit, audio tour, or guided tour. First you must buy an

admission ticket, which grants access to the State Apartments (Grands Appartements), and

Back side of the church ‚Notre Dame’ in Paris


- 63 -

then purchase a supplement for additional areas. Consider to stay at least 3-4 hours at the

Château de Versailles in order to see the most important parts of it. All of the interviewed

students which have been there definitely enjoyed the visit of Versailles.

We all had to check-out of the hotel rooms by latest 12 o’clock noon, but we had the

possibility to store our luggage in a hotel room. After the check-out many visited places

which they had not yet seen in Paris and went to eat before the long bus journey. Some of us

got in the hustle of some French football fans in the metro going back from the city centre to

the hotel because of an important French football match at night. The bus picked us up closed

to the hotel and we left Paris at about 18:15 h. During the trip we saw the following movies:

Robots, Bee Cool, Constant Garden and The Fast and the Furious II

Most of the students were able to sleep during the night travel from Paris to Krems and after 7

stops and 16.5 hours of travelling we arrived safely at 10:45 h on Sunday 30th of April at the

Bahnhofsplatz in Krems.

Sightseeing in Paris: Anis Bajrectarevic and Export 2003 students at Moulin Rouge


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5. Conclusion

Drawing a general conclusion is not as easy as it may seem. Every participant of the study trip

has his or her own personal impressions which in the end make up the entire picture. The few

chosen comments on the topic give clear indication of that fact. But a handful of things can be

said in general; the trip was definitely worthwhile, extraordinary and rewarding from both an

academic as well as personal standpoint.

A big thanks goes to our Professor Dr. Anis Bajrektarevic who chairs the International Law

and Global Political Studies department at our university. Through his exceptional career and

resulting contacts we had this unique possibility of entering the International Organisations as

well as getting wide-ranging lectures on a broad range of topics.

The content of these lectures in Paris and Geneva could in theory also have been taught at our

premises in Krems. But, as briefly mentioned in the introduction, to understand the scale and

importance of these International Organisations one actually has to have been there – hearing

something is one thing, but seeing and believing it another.

One has to envision the scope and scale of the study trip to comprehend its benefits and

effects. Organising and academically justifying that more than 60 students from different

semesters participate in an endeavour like this was no easy task to accomplish. Many parties

were involved in the process; the IMC EXP Program Director Prof. Ernst Fietz, the rectorate,

the executive board as well as the students of the 6th semester, merely to name a few.

This study trip certainly was an extraordinary event all students were glad to take part in.

Besides the academic viewpoint, it has to be mentioned that this trip also strengthened group

dynamics among us students – an aspect which shouldn’t be underestimated. Further it gave a

very nice impulse to our daily student life, providing for a lot of energy and motivation in

order to achieve visions and goals.

We know of no other comparable university in Austria which can boast itself to have done

something comparable – definitely a reason to be proud of.

It is absolutely worth to organise such a trip again for future IMC EXP students.


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6. Comments

Michael Ornik

This study trip certainly was an extraordinary event and I was glad

to take part in it. First of all each and every visit was truly interesting

and very valuable for us students. On the other hand I also had the

opportunity to get to know two cities in which I had not been before.

Besides the academic viewpoint, I have to mention that this trip also

strengthened group dynamics among us students.

I would like to take this opportunity and thank everyone who took

part in organizing this trip and helped to make it happen. Special

thanks to Sheila Poor and Anis Bajrektarevic for their efforts.

Claudia Schierer

The study trip to Geneva and Paris has been a great experience even

though not all of the presentations were what I expected. The

opportunity to see these organisations and talk to people was great. As

I see it learning theoretically about them is not always interesting and

thus to experience the actual situation there is important to really

understand their contribution to our lives.

Linn Olsen

The study trip was an original, but excellent suggestion for covering

one part of the Economic Areas class. It was far better to visit the

organisations in person and to get firsthand knowledge from them

directly than reading it all from some internet pages or books. Although

some lecturers were poorly prepared and pretty standardized the visits

gave us a different perspective and interest of the organisations as you

feel you “know” them better by physically being there, observing and

being able to ask questions. The trip was a perfect combination of business and pleasure.


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Reinhard Fischer

For me it was a great opportunity to participate in this study trip

which had never been organized in that form at the IMC before.

The trip gave us interesting information about various

international organizations and the opportunity to see them in

reality after learning about them at the university. Nevertheless

there was still a lot of time for sightseeing to explore the beautiful

cities of Geneva and Paris. The organization of the trip was very

well and also tried to keep it affordable for us in view of the high

price levels of the cities visited. Although the lectures at the international institutions were

quite interesting it seemed to me that they were in general not very well prepared for us and

our questions. At time their presentations included information already learned in class with

Mr. Bajrektarevic. Overall I think this trip was a great success and should be repeated in the

coming years.

Christina Hassler

Considering our study trip to Geneva and Paris I have to admit

that it was an enormous enrichment on the professional as well as

on the private scale. Concerning the professional field this journey

allowed us to complete our picture referring to the areas of

activities of international acting organisation and furthermore

provided us with the unique opportunity to convince ourselves of

the professional competences of the people who are employed at

such institutions.

In terms of the personal experiences this travel led for sure to an improvement regarding our

group dynamics.

Furthermore I would like to express my honest respect for the accomplishment of the

organisational tasks, done by the “committee”.


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Claudia Höbarth

To be provided with the unique opportunity to visit the respective international organisations

and furthermore to get the possibility to listen to briefings of the individual guest lecturers

have been of great value to me. As I am very keen on working within the UN after completion

of my studies, our study trip definitely had a positive impact on my future career, as we were

able to establish direct contacts with the professionals and moreover a realistic picture of their

scope of work. From my point of view, I am convinced that it is a complete different story to

actually be at the premises of the respective organisations, than to listen to guest lecturers

within the university setting, not only due to the fact that we could experience the flair of

Geneva and of Paris. It was a well- balanced combination of leisure time and time where we

were busy with the individual visits, I think everybody had enough time to do sightseeing and

to explore the cities.

All in all, I was and still am grateful for forming a part of our study trip and very thankful for

all work regards to the organisation.


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7. Sources

Geneva General Information about Geneva http://www.ville-ge.ch/en/decouvrir/en-bref/index.htm

Paris Tourism figures http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761561798_6/Paris_(city_France).html#B2 General information http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761561798_1/Paris_(city_France).html Population estimation http://www.insee.fr/fr/recensement/nouv_recens/resultats/grandes-villes-2005.htm European cities with more than 1 mio. inhabitants http://www.insee.fr/fr/ffc/chifcle_fiche.asp?ref_id=CMPTEF01103&tab_id=18

UNECE General Information www.unece.org History http://www.unece.org/info/CDTour/textes/english/history/history_1.html United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, Programmes http://www.unece.org/programs/programs.htm

WTO

The World Trade Organization in Brief http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/whatis_e.htm Understanding the WTO – The Organisation http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org4_e.htm The WTO – Secretariat and Budget http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/secre_e/div_e.htm Distribution of staff positions within the WTO's various divisions (2005) http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/secre_e/div_e.htm#distribution

International Committee of the Red Cross

Brochure ‘La convention de Genève de 1864 – Naissance du droit international humanitaire’ Brochure ‘Croix-Rouge Croissant Rouge’ International Committee of the Red Cross www.icrc.org International Red Cross www.redcross.int


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ILO

Department of Communication http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/inf/magazine/index.htm About the ILO - Mandate http://www.ilo.org/public/english/about/index.htm History http://www.ilo.org/public/english/about/history.htm Structure of the ILO http://www.ilo.org/public/english/depts/fact.htm

UNCTAD

General Information www.unctad.org

OECD General Informaiton www.oecd.org Overview of the OECD http://www.oecd.org/document/18/0,2340,en_2649_201185_2068050_1_1_1_1,00.html About the OECD http://www.oecd.org/about/0,2337,en_2649_201185_1_1_1_1_1,00.html History of the OECD http://www.oecd.org/document/63/0,2340,en_2649_201185_1876671_1_1_1_1,00.html

International Energy Agency IAEA IEA Differences & Similarities – PPP - Regina Geissberger International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA (1956) vs. International Energy Agency (1974) – PPP – Anja Semmellechner Organizational Profile http://www.iaea.org/About/index.html About the IEA http://www.iea.org/Textbase/about/index.htm

DEXIA General Information www.dexia.com

Other

Briefings by Representatives of the Organisations

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Geneva-Paris ST Report 2006

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